Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

Crystal Rennicke

I love finding a good bargain or learning about an innovative way to save money out back. That’s why I’m excited about the new Birds & Blooms’ Budget Contest. We’re giving away $500 to the winner of each category, so make sure you submit your best birding and gardening idea for your chance to win cash!

Happy Gardening!
—Crystal

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READ ON TO DISCOVER...

• Plant of the Month
• Yard Smarts
• Question of the Month
• Frugal Backyard Tip
• Submit Your Story

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Plant of the Month

Heliotrope
This fragrant annual is a beautiful garden addition.
Botanical name: Heliotropium arborescens
Bloom Time: Summer until first frost.
Hardiness: Annual.
Flowers: Blue, violet, lavender and white scented clusters of tubular flowers.
Size: 12-24 inches tall; 12-15 inches wide.
Growing Advice: Place container-grown plants in the garden 2 to 3 weeks after the last frost date—when the ground and air have had enough time to warm.

Click here for our Top Ten list of purple flowers.

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Yard Smarts

Hide a Garden Eyesore
This time of year, air conditioners are a necessary commodity. But they don’t need to create an eyesore in your backyard. Melinda Myers shares ways to cover up an air conditioner and make it run more efficiently. Watch now.

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Question of the Month

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Unknown Beauty
Q: This beautiful wildflower shows up in the woods behind my house every summer. Can you tell me what it is? –Karen Britton, Tamaroa, Illinois

Melinda: Known as Indian pink or Maryland pinkroot (its botanical name is Spigelia marilandica), this beauty is native to moist woodlands. You can find Indian pink from Maryland south to Florida and west to Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Watch closely, and you’ll notice the colorful flowers open from the bottom up during spring and summer.

  If you’d like to extend its display, remove the spent flowers. They thrive in fertile well-draining soil and partial shade.  

For more answers from Melinda, click here.

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Frugal Gardener Tip

Bagged Tomatoes
I grow tomatoes in a raised bed in the city. My yard is surrounded by power lines that are a popular hangout for squirrels to eye up my produce. By the time the tomatoes barely turn pink, they devour them. My solution? Slip sandwich bags over the ripening tomatoes and seal each bag near the stem. The squirrels don’t touch them, and I can reuse the bags after harvesting.
–Jean Williams, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Click here to join the chat on our Thrifty Backyards community.

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Submit Your Story

We’re looking for those interested in photography to send us some of their nature photos and tell us why they got interested in photography. Send them to Behind the Lens section using our Submit Your Story form.

Submit your story»

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